Forever And Always
by NeverGoesToSleep
Summary: AU version of season two where there's an established Finn/Quinn relationship. Side pairings include Mike/Tina, Puck/Rachel, Will/Emma, and slight Brittany/Santana...for now. Rated T just in case.
1. Prologue

***Hi everyone! I'm here with another story idea. This one is going to be a sort of AU version of season 2. In this version, we basically get to see how the episodes would have gone if there was still an established Finn/Quinn relationship. (I wish there was!) This first chapter is basically a prologue, explaining all of the things that went down before the first episode happened, just to set everything up for you all. I hope you like it anyways, and I apologize in advance for any errors.***

Finn thought that now that he was dating Rachel, he could finally forget about things, about _her_. And truthfully, he was...until one day in the school library.

It was the students' first week back at school, and they had already been piled with an English exam and a Spanish quiz. That meant no matter how much Finn wanted to goof off and toss a football around with his buddies during free period, he was stuck in the school library, talking Shakespeare with his girlfriend. As his brown eyes intently studied the blank notebook page in front of him, he began to sing almost inaudibly.

_"Baby, I can't fight this feeling anymore..."_

He whispered. Then he looked up, half-expecting the girl sitting across from him to quirk an eyebrow at him, call him an idiot, then order him to get her a slice of anchovie pizza with honey mustard on top because she was having a craving again. Instead she beamed at him, and belted out the next line three times louder than Finn did.

_"I've forgotten what I've started fighting for!"_

Right then and there, it seemed as though Rachel had accomplished her life's dream, because all eyes were on her...and Finn. A few claps were heard before the librarian halted them, but it was mostly snickers. Rachel did a pageant wave and sat up straight while the brunette across from her did the opposite, sinking lower in his chair until he felt like he was in the perfect position for the ground to swallow him up whole.

"That was fun!" Rachel whispered quickly. "I think we should talk to Mr. Schue about putting that song on the set-list for Sectionals." She suggested. Noticing her boyfriend's downcast look and slouch, she began to question him. "Something wrong?" She asked worriedly. Finn sighed.

"Look Rachel, it's cool that you like singing and stuff, but I don't know, could you not do it in here? People were 'kinda looking at us." He whispered. The girl's worried look scrunched up into a look of anger.

"What's your point?" She asked defensively, her voice raising only a bit.

"N-nothing, it's just that, you know, I kind of have-"

"Your reputation." She finished. "I thought you stopped caring so much about that." Truth be told, he tried hard to stop caring completely about what other people thought of him. And he didn't care as much as he used to, but it's still something really important to the quarterback.

"I tried to, but I couldn't stop completely caring. My reputation _is _still important to me, Rachel." He admitted, trying to gauge the response on her face. She huffed and stood up, walking straight out of the library. Finn sighed and rolled his eyes before going after the girl. "Rach, wait!" He called once in the hallway. Swiftly, the singer turned on her heel and stode over to the male.

"What's important to me is that you don't care about your reputation. Until you figure that out, consider us to have gone our separate ways." She explained. Finn simply gaped at the petite female as she turned around and walked out of the building. Once her retreating figure disappeared, Finn too turned around and went to the only place he could officially call his sanctuary.

* * *

Entering the chior room, he realized he wasn't alone. Mercedes and Kurt were in there, messing around with notes on the piano. Wordlessly, the eternally confused boy sat down on a stool usually used by Mr. Schuester.

"What's wrong now?" Mercedes asked him.

"Do you honestly have to ask?" Kurt asked his bestie. "It's Rachel."

"Is that white girl still getting to you?" Mercedes asked Finn.

"She broke up with me because I still care about being cool and my popularity and stuff." Finn explained.

"Your reputation is important to you, Finn. I get that." Kurt pointed out a little too eagerly for the other boy's liking. Kurt's eyes shifted back down to the piano as he spoke quietly. "If she doesn't, screw her." He sighed. Unbeknownst why to Finn, it empowered something in him. It determined him to not let her bring him down.

"Yeah." Finn said happily. "Yes!" He exclaimed, laughing hysterically. "I'm going to be popular again!" He shouted. He suddenly shut up and sat himself back down on the stool. "But how?" He asked the duo.

"Don't look at us." Mercedes said as she simultaneously backed up a step.

"Yeah, that's something we can't really help you with." Kurt added.

"Then I'll just have to find someone who can." The football player smiled.

"How do you expect to do that? No one's _ever_ cared about your rep." Kurt pointed out. The trio became lost in thought until the dark-skinned girl spoke up.

"Except..." She said, her eyes twinkling mischeviously. She turned and whispered something in Kurt's ear.

"Really?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Do you think she'll actually help him though?" Kurt asked Mercedes skeptically.

"It's worth a shot." She shrugged. "I know she still cares."

"Who?" Finn asked.

"Uh, hello!" Kurt said in a "duh!" tone.

"Quinn!" They answered at the same time. As the two best friends did ther signature handshake, Finn mulled over their solution in his head. _Quinn_! Why didn't he think of that? She really was the only person who gave a crap about his reputation other than his football team. But he tried not to count them because for the most part they're jerks. He probably should think Quinn's a jerk, too. You know, for breaking his heart like that. But in all honesty, he never really stayed mad at her. He was pretty ticked for a while, but his new found attraction for one Rachel Berry seemed to wittle away at the resentment and anger he had towards the blonde. Too bad his new found attraction for Rachel was just that: an attraction. He was turned on by her body, and turned off by everything else. And now that he was thinking about it, he may actually miss the ex-Cheerio. Like, a lot.

"Word on the street is she's head Cheerio again." Mercedes informed the two boys.

"This is perfect then. Quinn will help you be cool again, and then _we _may even climb higher on the food chain as well." Kurt said, a devilish grin slanting his eyebrows. The big girl next to him mimicked his look, but Finn was still unsure.

"Are you guys sure Quinn will wanna help me anyway? I mean, she may still be kind of ticked at me over the whole 'I'm done with you' thing. Plus, no offense or anything, but this is sort of a stupid idea, and you guys now how badly she handles stupid ideas..." He babbled. Mercedes walked over to the stool he was perched on to slap some sense into him. Literally. The girl's slap seriously stung and made him kind of want to cry, but he didn't want to look like a wuss so he just breathed as calmly as he could while staring into Mercedes' brown eyes.

"Finn, I lived with that girl for months. Whenever I would go in to get her sheets to clean them while she was at a doctor's appointment or something, don't think I didn't see what she kept under her pillow." She informed him. Again, the quarterback was confused.

"What did she keep under her pillow?" Finn asked quizzically. Mercedes strutted over to her huge messenger bag, pulling things out every few seconds until coming across a triangularly folded sheet of notebook paper. She lightly tossed it to Finn. Knowing by the way it was folded that it was a note, he skillfully opened up the sheet of paper, revealing one pencil-written word with a football dotting the "I", so Finn obviously wrote it. The word read Drizzle.

"Did you know that baby's full name?" She asked him, obviously referring to Quinn's daughter.

"Yeah, Beth Cocoran." He responded.

"Uh-uh. I was there when she filled all this junk out, boy. Her full name was Beth Drizzle Cocoran, and she asked Shelby to call her Drizzle." Mercedes explained.

"Really?" Kurt interrupted. 'Cedes nodded to him.

"So you think she might help me?" Finn asked hopefully. Mercedes literally pushed him out of the chior room.

"Just go!" She called. Finn walked slowly but surely to go find the girl that would make him cool again.

* * *

He found Quinn at her locker, preparing herself for the end of free period. Taking deep, slow breaths, Finn walked over to her locker.

"Uh, hey, Quinn..." He said to the blonde ponytail in front of him. She turned around and _wow. _Finn can't believe he forgot how hot she looked in her uniform.

"Finn." She said lightly, a slight smile tugging at her lips. "What brings you here?" She asked, a hand on her perfectly toned hip. _She had a baby?_ You could never tell. Finn was so busy staring at her that he almost forgot what he came to ask for.

"Oh! Uh-um, well...I sort of need some advice on something..." He said, shoving his hands in his pockets and slightly rocking on his heel.

"Think of the mail, Finn." She said in a bored tone of voice.

"Um, what?" He asked, bewildered at her response. "No, that's not what I need help with." He assured her.

"Then what do you want?" He took in a gallon of air and let it out through pursed lips as he explained it to her.

"I need advice on how to be cool again." He said. The quirked brow stayed in place, ordering him to continue. "Well, Rachel dumped me earlier because I'm pretty sure she thinks I care more about my reputation than I do her, which I guess is kind of true now because Kurt told me that if she doesn't care about all the stuff I care about, then I should just forget her, and I'm going to, but now I, like, really want to be popular again. No one cares about me being cool, though...except for you. I wasn't really sure if you would help me at first because of the whole 'I'm not the father thing', but Mercedes told me about how Beth's middle name is Drizzle and that you told Shelby to call her that, so, I-"

"Shut up!" Quinn commanded suddenly. One girl could only handle so much of Finn's nonsense all at once. She took a deep breath to clear her head, and then looked up at the tall boy with the dreamy eyes she couldn't help but want to look at all day long. "How do you expect me to help you?" She asked, her mind still trying to process Finn's incessant babbling.

"Well, you're smart, so I thought you may have some good ideas. And you're popular again, and...I miss you, Quinn." He whispered. She smiled a rare, genuine smile that tickled the coneres of her cheeks. She leaned up and embraced him in the warmest hug Finn had ever recieved. He smiled, momentarily wrapping his arms around her, too. She let go first.

"I missed you, too." She whispered. She bit her lip as she studied her white sneakers.

"So does that mean you'll help me?" He asked the head cheerleader.

"Yes." She giggled. He smiled gratefully at the girl, but then he realized something.

"Hey, Quinn?" He asked, and she looked up at him almost immediately. "Uh, forget about the being cool thing, I have a better question." He said. "C-Can we be in love again?" He asked. She softly smiled at him just as the bell rang. Students began to pour out of every previously closed wooden door, crowding around the two. Without even thinking, Quinn grabbed Finn by the neck and kissed him for a good minute or two. She could feel the eyes on them and Facebook statuses being updated around them.

"Of course." She answered his question. He just stood there, a mixture of confusion and infatuation painted on his face as she grabbed her books. "And now that you're dating me again, have no worries about your popularity." She whispered to him. He simply nodded, completely dumbfounded at the girl's actions. He watched her disappear into the sea of people swarming the hallways before actually regaining his composure and starting to think straight again. Not even a minute later the bell rang, practically taunting him with the fact that he was late to Math class.

"Well," He said to himself as he walked confidently down the desterted hallway, "At least I'm popular again."

***How did I do? Please review, it's the thing that motivates me to keep writing for you guys. :) Like I said, this was only a prologue to set everything up for my version of Audition, which I hope you all will like. Like I said, REVIEW! Critiques welcome!***


	2. Audition

***Gah! I finally finished this chapter! Okay, so a few things you should probably know. This follows the Glee Episode "Audition," But it doesn't document everything about it, just parts I thought to be relevant. And also, I'm sorry for any mistakes. I tried to comb through it really well, but a few stray mistakes always get away from me...Anyways, enjoy!***

Jacob Ben-Isreal and his camera ran around the school, desperate to document the goings on of "Glee's Big Gay Summer" as he called it. He had already and found and interviewed nearly everyone. As he was slowly walking away from the scene of Kurt's slushie attack, he turned the camera on himself.

"I've been notified of some drama on the relationship statuses. Let's go scope it out." He said dramatically as he walked up to Rachel at her locker. "Rachel!" He called. She jumped, then relaxed as soon as she realized it was just Jacob.

"What do you want?" She growled. The blogger shoved a microphone in the singer's face.

"Rachel! Confirm or deny rumors that Finn Hudson dumped you to reunite with Quinn Fabray?" He asked.

"Jacob," She sighed, "That's ridiculous. _I'm _the one who parted ways with Finn because he still has a lot of maturing to do before I can officially start to consider him boyfriend material." Rachel explained. "And I highly doubt that he's back together with Quinn. In fact, I find that idea ridiculous." She said, and closed her eyes as she turned to walk away.

"I have sources confirming it." The reporter threatened. Rachel stopped dead in her tracks and whipped around to look at the camera.

"Well then, what do you need me for? I-I guess you have your story." She mumbled, looking sadly at the ground. Silently, Jacob left the girl and went in search of the other two in question. He found Quinn walking down the hallways as students parted to let her through.

"Quinn Fabray!" He called behind her, attempting to keep up with her fast pace.

"Leave me alone." She said simply, her eyes still straight ahead. Unfortunately for her, though, Jacob was relentless. He struggled to keep up with her, but still continued the line of inquiry.

"Is it true that you and Finn Hudson are an item again?" He asked eagerly.

"It's none of your business." Was Quinn's simple reply. Jacob opened his phone and waved it in front of her face.

"Facebook begs to differ!" He sang. Gaping horrifically, Quinn jerked the phone from his hand.

"Where did you get it?" She asked, angrily pushing buttons on the phone. Her scowl deepened as she stared at the small cellphone screen.

"_This_ is a picture of a Rachel!" Quinn growled, showing him the phone.

"It's also my wallpaper." He admitted. She growled and tossed his phone right at his face. "Ow!" He said as he rubbed his shiny forehead. "Well you heard it here first." Quinn scoffed and pushed the camera out of his hands before walking away. After painstakingly piecing his beloved video camera back together, Jacob went on the search for Finn. He was surprisingly easy to find as he was stationed at his locker, tossing old papers and whatnot from the past two years out. "Finn Hudson!" He panted. Finn looked up immediately.

"Uh...hey." Finn greeted in a questioning tone.

"How do you feel about Rachel being heartbroken over you choosing to be with Quinn Fabray instead of her?" Jacob pried.

"She dumped me, dude, and I like being popular...and I like being with Quinn...I guess I actually like both because they're kinda tha same thing. You know, because Quinn's popular and I like her, and-" The quarterback's babbling was cut short by the buzzing of the school bell. "I've got to get to class." Finn said, excusing himself from Jake's prescence. After his departure, Jacob turned the camcorder on himself.

"You've heard it all here. Stay tuned for more on Glee's Big. Gay. Summer."

* * *

A few classes later marked the first official Glee rehearsal since last year. The students poured into the choir room all at once, surprisingly eager to get back to their old routines. All except for Rachel who was enviously eyeing Quinn, whose hand was conspicuiously folded into Finn's. Both of their hands were resting gently on Quinn's thigh. Mr. Schue walked in seconds later, simultaneously trying to calm the chatter between the Glee Clubbers.

"Hey, guys, guys," Mr. Schuester laughed, "Settle down." He commanded. Slowly but surely, the quiet mumbles and harsh whispers of conversation wittled away to nothing but silence. "Great. So, I know everyone's pumped to be back!" Hoots and hollers of agreement echoed throughout the room. "But unfortunately, it's not going to be all fun and games around here. Since Matt transferred, we're going to need at least one more member to join before we can even think about Sectionals." Mr. Schue explained.

"I agree." Rachel spoke up as she went to go stand next to their director.

"I'm with Rachel on this one." Puck said suddenly, slightly raising his hand.

"What?" Mercedes asked in disbelief while Brittany let out a quiet "Ew." Rachel grinned widely at Puck as he walked over and stood next to her, his hand inconspicuously resting on Rach's lower back.

"Well, if we want to bring those Vocal Adrenaline punks down this year, we're going to need more people!" He explained to the astonished and utterly confused faces of his peers.

"Oh! That reminds me!" Mr. Schuester exclaimed. "Get this, guys: Regionals is in New York this year!" He announced. Suddenly, bored faces lit up and silenced voices sang in amusement.

"We _have_ to make it, Mr. Schue!" Tina smiled, clapping her hands excitedly.

"I know, and that's why we need some more members." Their teacher told them. "Any ideas?"

"Mr. Schue?" Rachel asked with a raised hand.

"Go ahead, Rachel."

"Noah and I have come up with an idea that we believe will motivate our peers to join Glee Club." Rachel explained with a huge smile.

"Uh...great, let's hear it!" The teacher commanded. Rachel and Puck smiled at each other deviously.

* * *

_"Lets hear it for New York, New York, New York!"_

Disappointment filled the air around the Glee Clubbers as they sang the last note of Puck and Rachel's "idea." Sure, they weren't expecting a spectacular wave of applause and praise, but they didn't expect to completely ignored.

"Great idea, Rachel." Artie complimented her sarcastically. Mumbling the same sentiments as Artie, the rest of the club proceeded to leave to get changed.

"Hey, Quinn!" Finn whispered as he jogged over to her.

"Hey." She responded with a smile.

"Okay, so listen. When we were dancing up there, I saw this new kid kind of tapping his feet to the music. I think I'm going to talk to him about joining Glee Club." He explained, trying to read the expression on her face. The sunglasses and blinding sunlight of the school quad was making it difficult.

"Good luck with that, but I'd be ready for him to say 'No', Finn." Quinn warned him. His brow furrowed in blatant confusion.

"Why?" Quinn laughed at his ridiculous, yet cute idiocy.

"Because," She began, "He's a new kid, and in case you haven't noticed, Glee Club isn't the coolest thing around here." She explained in an almost sinister-sounding whisper.

"Well, do you think I've still got a chance?" Finn asked, his eyes intent. Her face softened and she quickly leaned up to kiss him.

"Of course." She murmured softly. He got this big, goofy grin on his face that never ceased to make Quinn's insides turn to a fluttery mess of mushy goodness.

"Cool." He said. The couple shared one more smile before parting ways to get to their next class.

* * *

Finn had just recently recieved some good news and bad news. Horrible news, actually. The good news was that Sam had agreed to meet Finn and a few other members of the club in the choir room for an audition. He had heard him singing in the locker room earlier that day and it was great to say the least. The horrible news was that he just got kicked off the football team. He's not the quarterback anymore! His slowly regenerated popularity was flushed down the toilet like a dead fish all in a few moments of "backtalk" as Coach Beiste called it. Sighing, he made his way into the choir room with all of the current members he could muster up during the free period. He found Puck pretty much doing nothing but planning his next bout of slushie attacks, so he grabbed him, and he had pulled Mike away from Tina just long enough to get him to come along as well. Finn was pretty sure Artie was only coming with because he felt obligated to, but Finn didn't care. He had also somehow managed to drag Quinn along despite her many protests.

Upon entering the room, they noticed Sam was already present and leaning against the piano. Mike, Puck, and Finn pulled chairs up for themselves as Artie wheeled up next to Finn. Quinn simply stood behind Finn's chair, clasping her arms around his shoulders and gently resting her chin in his brown locks.

"Okay, well, I think everyone's here." Finn said, looking from side to side. "So guys, this is the new kid, Sam Evans." Finn introduced the blonde boy, who waved slightly. The Glee Clubbers were not impressed. "Well, uh, Sam, this is Artie." Artie did some sort of Sci-fi type wave that Sam simply smiled awkwardly to. "Mike." Mike nodded slightly, and Sam returned the gesture coolly. "And this is Puck."

"Dude-" Puck interrupted. "Your mouth is huge! How many tennis balls can you fit in there?" He asked eagerly. Artie facepalmed himself and Quinn gave him a disgusted eyeroll.

"I don't know, I've never had any balls in my mouth. Have you?" **(A/N: Epic Sam XD) **Snickers and mocking giggles filled the air around Puck's now completely shaved head. Ignoring them, Puck whispered: "I like this kid."

"Well, he can sing, too!" Finn bragged, slowly starting to get up.

"Wait!" Sam commanded. "Who's that?" He pointed to Quinn.

"Quinn." Finn responded. He didn't like the way Sam was eyeing her one bit. "My girlfriend." He added hastily.

"So in other words," Puck began as he got up. "Put your eyes back in your head and start singing for us, Big Mouth." He said, clapping a hand on the shoulder of a very flustered Sam as he grabbed his guitar.

"What've you got up your sleeve?" Finn asked from his seat in front of the drums.

"Um, I don't know, Billionaire?" He asked.

"You got it." Finn smiled. He kind felt like an idiot, like it was blatantly obvious that he was kissing up to Sam. But they were desperate for members. And as Finn just learned, desperation makes you do stupid things. The strumming of Puck and Sam's guitars slowly started to form a melody, made recognizable by Quinn's rhythmic tamborine tapping. Finn began to play the drums in coordination with the instruments and voices.

_"I wanna be a billionaire so fricking bad _  
_buy all of the things I never had _  
_uh, I wanna be on the cover of Forbes magazine _  
_smiling next to Oprah and the Queen _

_Oh every time I close my eyes _  
_I see my name in shining lights _  
_A different city every night oh _  
_I swear the world better prepare _  
_for when I'm a billionaire _

_Yeah I would have a show like Oprah _  
_I would be the host of, everyday Christmas _  
_give Artie a wish list _  
_I'd probably pull an Angelina and Brad Pitt _  
_and adopt a bunch of babies that ain't never had sh-t _  
_give away a few Mercedes like here lady have this _  
_and last but not least grant somebody their last wish _  
_its been a couple months since I've single so _  
_you can call me Artie Claus minus the Ho Ho _  
_get it, hehe, I'd probably visit where Katrina hit _  
_and damn sure do a lot more than FEMA did _

_yeah can't forget about me stupid _  
_everywhere I go Imma have my own theme music _

_Oh every time I close my eyes _  
_I see my name in shining lights _  
_A different city every night oh _  
_I swear the world better prepare _  
_for when I'm a billionaire _  
_oh oooh oh oooh for when I'm a Billionaire _  
_oh oooh oh oooh for when I'm a Billionaire _

_I wanna be a billionaire so fricking bad _  
_buy all of the things I never had _  
_uh, I wanna be on the cover of Forbes magazine _  
_smiling next to Oprah and the Queen _

_I wanna be a billionaire so frickin bad!"_

Sam's voice started to fade along with the instruments, leaving Finn and the other Glee kids thoroughly impressed.

"That was fun." The blonde boy laughed with a broad smile that mimicked the others.

"Well, Sam, you think you could come back and do that in front of the rest of the club?" Finn inquired. Hesitantly, Sam responded.

"Sure." Admittedly, Finn was nervous that it took so long for him to answer, but he did a little victory drumroll for himself anyways.

* * *

Despite his happiness over Sam, Finn was still sullen and downcast about his current status on the football team. And as Sam left the room, the rest of the kids stayed and looked expectantly at Finn.

"What?" He asked his peers.

"What's wrong?" Quinn asked quickly, her voice laced with poison. It freaked Finn out, like a lot.

"Coach Beiste threw him off the football team." Puck explained to the blonde.

"You got thrown off the football team?" She asked as she placed a somewhat soothing hand on Finn's aching shoulder.

"It's not a big deal." He lied. His eyes glued to the symbol in front of him begged to differ, however.

"Well it is for you." Quinn whispered, her breath tingling the skin of his earlobe.

"Yeah, Dude." Puck agreed. "Don't think we didn't see through your pansy act around Big Mouth."

"You're a wreck." Mike added. Finn put a hand on his forehead, letting the rest of the group know they got him.

"I know." He groaned.

"Well why'd you get thrown off?" Quinn asked him with a raised brow. Artie wheeled forward a bit.

"It was my fault." He admitted quietly. "I-I asked Finn to help me get a tryout for the football team and Coach blew up at him when he brought me to her." Artie explained.

"It wasn't your fault." Finn assured his wheel-chaired friend.

"It's going to be okay because Finn's going to get back on the team." Quinn said, patting her boyfriend's back slightly.

"I am?" He asked her.

"Well, she _has_ to put you back on the team." Quinn pointed out. "Your the only person on that team who can throw a decent pass." She mumbled, referring to the McKinley High football team's horrible stats.

"Hey, who do you think's on the recieving end of those passes, Sweetheart?" Puck asked proudly.

"Actually...that's usually me." Mike said with his hand slightly raised. The whole room, even Finn exploded into cheery fits of laughter. Well, all except for Puck.

As the laughter began to die down, a loud beeping from a phone replaced it. Every person in the room frantically searched for their phones until Mike told everyone it was coming from his.

"Whoa." he said, his eyes glued to the small screen of his phone.

"What?" Finn asked, in a decidedly happier mood than before.

"You know Sunshine, that foreign exchange girl?" Mike asked. His friends all nodded. "Well, Tina just texted me to tell me that Rachel sent Sunshine to a _crack house_!" He laughed in utter disbelief while everyone else simply gaped at the announcement.

"Which one?" Puck asked, more amused than anything. Once he realized that his reaction wasn't well-recieved by everyone else, he began to exit the choir room, leaving them with an impressed-sounding: "I didn't know that Berry had it in her."

"Tina and I are going to talk to Mr. Schue about it now." Mike said, excusing himself from the room. Artie wheeled out after Mike, leaving Quinn and Finn alone.

"This is really stressing me out, Quinn." Finn said, running his hands through his hair. "I mean, I know I shouldn't care so much about being popular and stuff, but I do, so not being quarterback..." He tried to explain, but was just at a loss for words. Quinn sat down on what little space the stool behind the drumset had left and ran her own hand through his hair.

"Well, there's no point in worrying about it. I heard Coach Sylvester talking about dealing with that new coach during Cheerios practice this morning." She disclosed, lacing a lock of Finn's bristly hair in and out between her fingers. "Don't worry about it."

"But I-"

"Sh. Don't worry." She whispered as she kissed the side of his head. He couldn't help but beam at the pretty girl who even after all this time and all those lies he still loved with all he had.

"Hey Quinn?" Finn asked after a while of sitting in silence with her. "I love you." Quinn's eyes almost got watery while she pulled Finn in for a very long-awaited kiss.

* * *

Puck had somehow convinced Rachel to be nice with Sunshine and actually invite her to tryout, an action that was undoubtedly done with his shirt off. Nonetheless, The New Directions were all sitting in the theater-like seats of their auditorium, awaiting the audition of the shy girl. Although all eyes should have been on Sunshine as she daintily walked onstage, they were on Rachel, who was heavily leaning her head on a satisfied-looking Noah Puckerman's shoulder. As soon as Sunshine opened her mouth to sing, though, all the attention was given to her.

After a remarkably beautiful rendition of the song _Listen_ from the movie-er-Broadway Show as Rachel oh-so-kindly informed her peers, DreamGirls, Sunshine was formally welcomed to their little band of misfits. The bell rang, signaling the end of their class today. The singers parted ways and happily jogged off to their next class. After that class was over, Quinn was standing in the corner of one of McKinley's many hallways, unsatisfactorily watching a very tall man in dark clothing help their newest addition to the club pack up all her things. Finn walked over to tell Quinn and everyone else the bad news about Sam choosing not to join New Directions when he saw she was staring at something. She did nothing but point to the scene in front of her, which now had Mr. Schuester in it. He was trying to give Sunshine their rehearsal schedule and what looked like sheet music when her new director, Dustin Goolsby intervened. Apparently, he gave Sunshine and her mom a condo and a Greencard each for her to switch to Vocal Adrenaline.

Rachel appeared nearby as Sunshine left, looking desperately at the petite girl's retreating form.

"She would have won Regionals for us, you know." Puck informed her.

"Do it." Was her grief-stricken reply.

"Do what?" He questioned her.

"Tell me that you never want to see me again." She answered, still looking sadly at the ground.  
"Babe, I was just about to ask you out!" Puck answered. Rachel's head flicked up immediately.

"Really?" She asked. If Finn and Quinn had popcorn right now, they would be tossing it into their mouths at a mile a minute and chewing on it even faster, for the scene in front of them was way too nail-biting for them to handle. He nodded and she leaned up quickly to kiss him and then pressed their foreheads together afterward. "Do you think they'll ever forgive me?" She whispered to him. Quinn and Finn put on their best fake angry faces as the duo looked at them.

"They'll come around." He responded. "But apologizing probably wouldn't be a bad idea." Puck advised his newest girlfriend. She nodded with her eyes closed and he grabbed her wrist to take her to make her apologies.

"Wait." She choked, ripping their hands apart. Puck gave her a questioning look. "I need to do something first." He nodded reluctantly and watched her disappear into the crowd of people.

"Wow." Finn said finally.

"I know. This year...is going to suck." Quinn sighed.

"Hey!" Finn said, sliding an arm around her shoulder. "Don't think like that. It's going to be a great year." He said quietly as they walked down the hall. "I mean look, people are stepping out of our way again, you're head cheerleader, I'm not...quarterback anymore, but we'll fix that eventually, and I have you." He smiled sweetly at her. She smiled back up at him.

"I love you, too."

*** Haha, Fuinn was creepin' on Puckleberry in that last part ;D Okay, Guys, so now it's REALLY important that you review so I can stay motivated and also know what you want to see more/less of. That way, I can sort of stay on the same page as you guys and it'll be enjoyable for the both of us. :) Anyways, PLEASE REVIEW!***


	3. BritneyBrittany

***Hi, all! So, I finnished the next chapter, and I'm not exactly sure I liked it, though. Thank you for your reviews, they were really helpful and I kept them in mind as I wrote this. Concerning Puckleberry, I'll try not to include it so much in later chapters, but there is a healthy amount of it in this chapter. Also, the words "Britney" and "Spears" are very overused in this. Just so you know. ;D***

Glee Club the next morning was admittedly a bore for Mr. Schuester's students. Quinn was constantly elbowing Finn so he wouldn't fall asleep (again), and Quinn had her own small cup of low-fat coffee (Sue Sylvester approved, of course) under her chair for herself. Adult Contemperary was not something the kids were looking forward to spending a week on, much less performing at the assembly in a few days..

"So, your assignment this week is to-" Kurt raised his hand all of a sudden, ceasing Mr. Schuester's chatter.

"Mr. Schue?" He asked.

"Yes, Kurt?"

"I thought I should let you know that there is a growing Facebook campaign for the New Directions to preform a number by Miss Britney Spears at the assembly in a few days!" He announced dramatically. The boredom in the room was cast aside immediately to make room for squeals of delight and incredibly fast chatter over the amazing idea.

"Guys, guys! We are _not_ doing Britney Spears at the assembly! I just don't think she's a good role model for you guys." Mr. Schue declined.

"But Mr. Schue, we kind of grew up with her." Rachel argued. The students around her echoed her sentiments.

"I don't want to do Britney Spears." Brittany spoke up suddenly.

"Why not?" another member asked.

"Because I've spent my whole life living in her shadow." Brittany explained, bashfully twiddling her thumbs and staring at her lap.

"Britt, what are you talking about?" Santana asked. Although her tone was it's usual in-your-face self, Santana's eyes showed true concern for her "best friend." (As if that's _all _she was.)

" My name is Brittany Susan Pierce, or Brittany S. Pierce. Brittany Spears." She explained. Rachel opened her mouth to explain to the Cheerio that she was overexaggerating by putting her initials together, but Santana sharply elbowed her in the side, snapping Rachel's overused jaw shut.

"Guess the jury's out then, guys. Sorry." Their teacher apologized, but the smug smile on his face told another story as he turned back to the whiteboard and began to ramble on about easy listening.

* * *

Everyone was drastically early to rehearsal the next day. The kids usually aimed for that, though; the more hang-out time they could get with each other, the better. Rachel had apparently arrived way earlier than everyone else had, and the empty seat next to Puck was evidence that she had run off to search for a Britney Spears number that wasn't too provacative, thus gaining Mr. Schue's approval. That job was proving to be harder than the aspiring Broadway star thought.

Back in the choir room, the conversation had turned to the major problem they still had: getting another member.

"What about that white boy you and Quinn auditioned with the guys?" Mercedes asked Finn. He shook his head.

"He's not joining as long as he's the quarterback. He doesn't want to ruin his rep." Finn said the last sentence slowly.

"Sound familiar?" Santana asked. Her question was ignored as the Glee Club spouted out random suggestions.

"Guys, guys!" Quinn yelled over the kids, hushing them immediately.

"Sam will join the club again after _Finn_ is quarterback again." She explained, clapping her hand gently on Finn's broad shoulder and massaging it laxly.

"He will?" Tina asked, a brow raised inquisitively.

"Yeah..." Puck began slowly, "No offense bro, but I saw Big Mouth at practice yesterday, and he's pretty good." Puck explained, his eyes darting across the members on the lower risers and ground.

"Maybe, but Finn's trained to tackle those three-hundred-pound neanderthals...and he's cuter." Quinn added. Finn smiled proudly at her and she ruffled his hair just a tad.

"Ew." Santana scoffed at the PDA just as the distant door creaked open to grant a discouraged-looking and weary Rachel Berry entrance.

"Any luck?" Kurt asked hopefully as she sat down next to Puck.

"No." She sighed, flipping through the pages and pages of sheet music seated neatly in her lap. "I looked through all of these songs, but none of them seem appropriate enough to gain Mr. Schuester's approval."

As if on cue, the aforementioned teacher strode into the room, Ms. Pillsbury and a very good looking, albeit gruff man trailing behind.

"Hey guys!" Their teacher waved. "This is is Dr..."

"Just call me Carl." Carl said, slightly waving at the throng of teenagers in front of him.

After recieveing a boring lecture from the new face about how poor dental hygiene could potentially affect your singing voice, (A downright horror story for Rachel) they were given these tablets that they were to chew and it would apparently reveal the plaque and other dental germs crawling on their teeth.

"Chew, chew, chew!" the guidance counselor encouraged as the Glee kids hesitantly popped the blue tablets into their mouths.

"You are the hottest dentist I've ever met." Santana said as she chewed the tablet. Brittany beside her nodded numbly in agreement. Carl simply laughed awkwardly. "No seriously, can drill me-"

"Santana!" Ms. Pillsbury screamed nervously, possibly a little louder than necessary. "Uh-uh, let's see those teeth!" Emma encouraged. Santana's lips tugged away towards her cheeks to reveal perfectly white teeth. Not a blue stain in sight. As more displays of pearly whites began popping up in the group of students, Kurt spoke up again.

"Mr. Schue," He sang, "I thought I should let you know that another member joined the Britney Spears campaign on Facebook." He informed Mr. Schuester.

"Sorry, Kurt, but it's still not happening." Mr. Schue replied nonchalantly.

Meanwhile, Quinn smiled widely, showing off her own set of sparkling white teeth. Finn smiled at her, letting his girlfriend examine his teeth that were only slightly blue. Nothing a little mouthwash and excessive flossing won't fix. Just above the couple, they heard Puck gasp.

"Whoa!" He exclaimed, taken aback at Rachel's horrific set of deep blue teeth. Quinn and Finn couldn't help but cringe at the thought of all the germs and diseases crawling on the brunette's teeth.

"What?" She asked worriedly. Kurt inconspicuously pushed a shiny compact mirror into her lap, letting her catch a glimpse of what everyone was so grossed out at. Upon noticing it, Rachel's hand flew to her mouth, her eyes screaming in desperation. "I don't understand this! I floss between classes!" Rach protested.

"You know, sometimes it's hereditary." Carl explained. "I'll fix you up after school, you'll be as good as new, eh?" the dentist encouraged her. She simply let out a squeak in reply. "Alright." He laughed as he handed Rachel a business card with the time of her appointment on it. He passed a few others out to some of the teens before exiting, making sure to clasp Emma's hand tightly as the duo walked out of the room. Their teacher stared at the doorway wistfully, tears possibly in his eyes until he realized that he still had a class to teach. Composing himself, he turned on his heel to face his show choir.

"Alright guys, so, Adult Contemperary is mainly composed of" He began, eliciting a large groan from his students, each one contributing in the protest to stray from the boredom. Mr. Schue was unfazed by the students' disagreements, and instead continued to scribble on the portable whiteboard. This is when the class had officially found it safe to run wild. They could pass notes, finish their biology homework, eat the rest of their lunch, or in the case of Mike and Tina, make out without their poor teacher even having a clue what was going on. He would stay glued to the whiteboard sometimes for the whole class period, and with the kids this opposed to their assignment this week, they didn't even _try_ to listen to what Mr. Schuester was saying.

Finn looked at Quinn, who was sitting in a red plastic chair identical to his, as well as right next to his. Her soft hand was resting gently on Finn's leg while her free hand was pressing buttons on her cell phone, seemingly texting Santana. Finn shifted slightly, grabbing his notebook from under his chair. He slowly but surely ripped a clean, blank sheet out of it and scrawled on it with a pen. He folded it up into a finger football, but instead of flicking it, he lightly pushed it into Quinn's lap. She tore her eyes away from her phone, one brow raised at the paper in front of her. She hesitantly unfolded the paper and read it to herself:

**Hey Quinn **

Finn's writing clearly spelled out. Snagging a pencil from the ground, she wrote back and didn't even bother to fold the sheet up before handing it back.

**What?**

Was all it said, but Finn could feel the annoyance and frustration in her long, loopy cursive. Sometimes Finn thinks that the pregnancy hormones never really left her completely, but he's afraid to bring it up because he doesn't want to see her cry anymore. Like...ever. So, he takes what Puck calls "The wusses' way out" and responds with a simple

**I love you. **

The wusses' way out works like a charm for Finn, as his girlfriend lets herself smile slightly at the note while she places a small kiss on Finn's cheek. Neither of them know how it happens, but in two minutes time it had turned into a full-on make-out session, right there in the middle of class. Finn knows without even looking that Puckerman is taking pictures of them with his cellphone, and maybe even posting the scandalous pictures on Facebook or MySpace, but he doesn't really care. He's more focused on Quinn and how her lips are incredibly soft and that they taste like vanilla, which is awe-inspiring for him. And he can't help but think that even though she's sitting on his lap by now and they're both leaning their heads up or down awkwardly that their bodies fit together perfectly. The mailman incident began to replay in his mind just as Mr. Schue's rambling got louder, meaning he was done writing on the board. Finn firmly but carefully dropped the cheerleader back down on her chair, putting her down just before Mr. Schue turned to face them.

"So what do you guys think?" He asked. Luckily, the band of singers had perfected their split-second hideaway routine, and there wasn't even a trace of the shenanigans that took place in the room mere seconds ago. A hush fell over the kids as none of them raised their hands.

"I...think I liked it?" Tina offered in a questioning tone. Beside her, Mike seemed to be struggling to wipe the remains of his girlfriend's black lipstick off of his mouth. The other students held their breath, eagerly searching the man's expressionless face for a reaction.

"Really?" He finally asked. "Interesting." He said, slowly, turning back to the whiteboard. A collective sigh of relief swept over the room as a few returned to their previous misbehavior. Finn started to turn to Quinn again, but he noticed the sheet of paper folded into a neat square on top of his jeans. He opened it curiously to find Quinn's girly handwriting almost overlapping his much sloppier scrawl.

**I love you, too**.

* * *

The next morning, Finn was confiding in Quinn once again in a corner of one of the hallways.

"I'm going to run a few laps out on the field during football practice today. Maybe if Coach Beiste sees how fast I am, she'll think about putting me back on the team." Finn tried to sound optimistic despite being skeptikal on the effectiveness of that plan.

"You have a Spanish test to study for." Quinn reminded him as she flattened out the pleats of her Cheerios skirt.

"Well, I'll study with you tomorrow." He offered carelessly.

"Finn, the test _is _tomorrow." She sighed.

"Okay," He began slowly, "Well then I c-whoa!" He stopped mid-sentence. Rachel had just strutted past in an outfit that was...whoa. Quinn looked confusedly at him until she, too, noticed the provacative outfit. Her mouth agape, she mustered up all her strength and pounded on Finn's shoulder with all her might. His eyes looked like they could've popped out of his head as he sharply inhaled to keep from cursing and grabbed at his shoulder. "What was that for?" He hissed, surprised at how much her punch had hurt.

"For undressing Berry with your eyes." She explained simply. "Not that it's a far leap." She said quietly, examining Rachel's skimpy outfit as the girl chatted with Puck, apparently unaware of all the sets of eyes glued to her.

"I don't understand, Noah. I thought you'd like the outfit best." Quinn and Finn heard Rachel say with a slight frown.

"Babe, I like the outfit, okay? But save it for the flatbed of my truck! I'm pretty sure Q just knocked Hudson's lights out over there _just_ for staring at you." Puck tried, pointing with his thumb to the couple behind them. Rachel peeked momentarily at them before turning back to her boyfriend.

"Noah, Britney Spears is a pop music icon that needs to be followed and praised for her remarkable music and impact on modern performers. I'm just trying to do that in the most fahionable way possible." Rachel explained, gently stroking Puck's cheek before walking to Glee. He sighed in defeat before chasing after her.

* * *

Finn bounded in Glee that day, smiling a broad, giddy smile. Quinn raised a brow inquisitively at him, initially thinking he's drunk or on those Vitamin D pills again, but she's proved wrong when Artie comes in behind him, shouting:

"We're on the team!" over and over with his raised triumphantly over his head. Quinn smiled softly to herself, glad to see Finn so happy after not seeming as such the past few days.

"Did you hear that?" Finn asked her as he slid into the seat next to her. She showed him her soft smile to let him know she did. "I'm back on the team!" He laughed, his smile not faltering.

"I'm glad." She admitted, pecking him on the lips in a celebratory fashion. The conversation slowly transitioned from football to Rachel, or rather her current choice in wardrobe. Santana turned to the topic of conversation seated next to her.

"Well, Rachel," Santana began, twisting a bit of her shiny black ponytail within her fingers, "Congratulations. Normally you dress like the fantasy of a perveted Japanese businessman with a very dark, specific fetish, but I actually dig this look." She informed Rachel, clapping her hands together.

"Yeah, it's _hot_!" Artie added.

"Easy." Puck warned his wheel-chaired friend, but the knowing look they shared afterward told Artie that Puck couldn't help but agree.

Mr. Schuester bounded into the room, surprisingly chipper.

"Guys," He began, "How about some Britney?" He asked enthusiastically. The children didn't even care to ask what their teacher was on at the moment, or if he had a severe head injury, for their joy was overshadowing their worry. "And I'll be singing with you!" Mr. Schuester announced, immediately turning the ecstatic cheers of his students into a silent confusion.

"You sure about this, Mr. Schue?" Mercedes asked skeptically.

"Don't worry, guys. It's gonna be great!" Their teacher announced loudly. Shrugging their doubts off easily, the teenagers joined in the celebration.

* * *

It was the day after the now infamous assembly, and things had changed. Rachel was back to dressing like "the fantasy of a perverted Japanese businessman with a very dark, specefic fetish" as Santana oh-so-quaintly put it again, Mr. Schue had sworn off Britney Spears and was back to being his calm, yet tolerably strict self, and Rachel and Puck were more attached to each other than ever. Finn was wondering if it had to do with Santana hanging all over Puck at his locker yesterday and Puck shrugging her off, mumbling something about Rachel, but he kept his suspicions quiet as the brunette in question asked their teacher for permission to sing.

"Sorry Rachel, but no more Britney." Mr. Schuester politely declined her request.

"Oh, no. This actually has to do with the original assignment this week: Adult Contemperary." Rachel assured with a smile. The Spanish teacher thought about it for a moment before stepping to the side, letting Rachel stand in the center of the room. "I'd like to dedicate this to my boyfriend." She said, tears already gathering in her eyes as she gazed at Puck. Brad began to softly pluck the keys of the piano, creating a soft and familiar melody just as Rachel's voice poured out of her mouth.

_When I was younger, I saw my daddy cry_  
_And curse at the wind_  
_He broke his own heart and I watched_  
_As he tried to reassemble it_

Rachel's stunning brown orbs bore into Puck's, just as many others were in the room. Finn turned the girl next to him and snaked his arm around her shoulder, causing her to look at him and smile.

_And my momma swore that_  
_She would never let herself forget_  
_And that was the day that I promised_  
_I'd never sing of love if it does not exist_

Everyone in the room was singing the lyrics softly their loved ones except for Puck, who was simply staring at his crying girlfriend, and Mr. Schuester, who was staring thoughtfully out at the parking lot.

_But darling, you are the only exception_  
_You are the only exception_  
_You are the only exception_  
_You are the only exception_

By now the whole room was singing with Rachel, or rather to the one they wanted to. Quinn had leaned her head on Finn's shoulder, looking up at Finn as the lyrics fell from her mouth. He smiled down at her and joined in, thinking about how true this was for the pair of them.

_Maybe I know, somewhere deep in my soul_  
_That love never lasts_  
_And we've got to find other ways to make it alone_  
_Or keep a straight face_

_And I've always lived like this_  
_Keeping a comfortable distance_  
_And up until now I had sworn to myself that I'm content with loneliness_  
_Because none of it was ever worth the risk_

_But you are the only exception_  
_You are the only exception_  
_You are the only exception_  
_You are the only exception_

_I've got a tight grip on reality_  
_But I can't let go of what's in front of me here_  
_I know you're leaving in the morning when you wake up_  
_Leave me with some kind of proof, it's not a dream, oh_

_You are the only exception_  
_You are the only exception_  
_You are the only exception_  
_You are the only exception_

_You are the only exception_  
_You are the only exception_  
_You are the only exception_  
_You are the only exception_

_And I'm on my way to believing_  
_Oh, and I'm on my way to believing_

The music slowly began to fade, leaving only the heavy sniffling of Rachel and the nearly nonexistent applause as the only sounds in the room. Class was dismissed at the time, but hardly anyone got up right away. Artie had wheeled out, jealousy seeping out of every pore. Brittany and Santana had eventually shuffled out, too, dragging Mercedes and Kurt with them. As the remaining members of the club finally began to exit, Quinn and Finn got up and began to gather their books.

"Hey, Quinn?" Finn asked as he stacked her books on top of his, willingly carrying them in his arms.

"Yeah?" She asked him inattentively as she walked beside him.

"I liked that song. It kind of fit us." Finn thought aloud.

"Really?" She asked, clearly amused.

"Well...yeah. We've gone through all of this stuff and everything, and we still call each other out only exceptions. Weird, right?" He laughed. Looking into the puppy-dog eyes that she had loved the moment she first spotted them in the crowded hallways, she wondered how she could ever love another pair of eyes. Laughing, she answered his question, rhetorical or not:

"No."

***How was it? That's exactly what I'd like to know, so REVIEEEEEWWWWW! (Please!)***


	4. Grilled Cheesus

***I'm glad I finished this chapter so quickly, and I'm actually pretty satisfied with it. As promised, I kept the Puckleberry to a minimum in this chapter, but this chapter does heavily feature Kurt and mentions of religion for obvious reasons. Please don't forget to review!***

Finn walked into Glee with his head held high. Instead of the football team suffering their predicted loss the previous night, they had reigned victorious, and it was all because of Finn. Well, he didn't actually play that much, but the win was still his doing...because of The Grilled Cheesus. A few days ago when Finn was at home, studying and ready to make himself a simple sandwich. Instead, he had burned the thing in his mother's press. But the really amazing thing was that the burn pattern was in the shape of Jesus. He mustered up all the knowledge he collected from those Christ's Crusaders meetings Quinn started dragging him to again, and figured that it was a message from God. So, he did what he thought he should do and prayed to it, asking that the McKinley High football team take home the win. Grilled Cheesus delivered.

"Hey, look who it is!" Mr. Schuester laughed, pointing to Finn and the rest of the football players behind them. They smiled and waved as everyone hooted and hollered while they took their seats. "Good game last night!" Their teacher complimented.

"You know, I hate to be a killjoy, but they won six to three!" Mercedes revealed.

"Which means," Santana began, "They didn't win by much." Quinn's eyes shot up to her immediately, glaring holes into the Latina.

"A win is a win." The blonde informed her, he voice hardly above a whisper. The tension between the two girls was unbearable for the rest of the Glee Club. They needed to cut through the uneasiness before something bad happened.

"Uh, yeah guys!" Mr. Schue clapped. "Let's get to the assignment this week, alright?" He asked, his eye suddenly spotting Finn standing there with his hand raised.

"Mr. Schue? I've got an idea of what we should do this week." Finn explained. Whispers and gasps of surprise filled the air as the lanky boy stood in front of the rest of the class. "We all know the football team won last night, and I think I know why."

"'Cause you didn't play?" Puck chuckled. Quinn turned around and gave him a fair slap in the knee. "Whoa, hey! Just kidding, Babe." He said, putting his hands up defensively. She gave him another icy glare before turning back around, giving her boyfriend the cue to continue.

"No, I don't think it was because I didn't play. I think it was because I prayed before the game...to Jesus! I think we should spend this week giving thanks." Finn proposed.

"Really?" Quinn asked interestedly, looking thoroughly impressed with him.

"Well, yeah." Finn answered. A few scattered smiles popped up around the room and started discussing the proposition vividly.

"Hm, Well, it's a cool idea, bro, but I'd still like to continue my streak of doing songs by Jewish artists." Puck said, grabbing his guitar and standing in front of the piano. "Hit it!" He commanded. A lively rift of music began to fill the room, causing a few students to shimmy and shake with delight.

____

_Come out Virginia, don't let me wait_  
_You Catholic girls start much too late_  
_Ah but sooner or later it comes down to fate_  
_I might as well, will be the one_

Puck began to walk up the risers filled with his classmates until reaching his girlfriend, smiling at her as he twirled her around a few times.

Well they showed you a statue and told you to pray  
They built you a temple and locked you away  
Ah but they never told you the price that you pay  
For things that you might have done

Rachel followed Puck back down to the floor, bringing several of the others down with them. Quinn tugged at Finn's sleeve, bringing him out on the floor with her.

Only the good die young  
That's what I said  
Only the good die young  
Only the good die young

Soon, everyone with the exception of Kurt was up out of their chairs, jumping around and singing along. Quinn led Finn into doing a simple swing dance that Puck and Rachel were mirroring soon enough.

You might have heard I run with a dangerous crowd  
We ain't too pretty, we ain't too proud  
We might be laughing a bit too loud  
Ah but that never hurt noone

Kurt hopped out of his chair, and a few Glee Clubbers held their breaths as he got up...and sat at the back of the room with his cell phone.

So come on Virginia show me a sign  
Send up a signal I'll throw you a line  
That stained glass curtain you're hiding behind  
Never lets in the sun

Mercedes stared longingly at her best friend as he didn't acknowledge anyone's existense, hardly even bobbing his head to the music.

Darlin only the good die young  
I tell you only the good die young  
Only the good die young

You get a nice white dress  
And a party on your confirmation  
You've got a brand new soul  
Mm and a cross of gold  
But Virginia they didn't give you  
Quite enough information  
You didn't count on me  
When you were counting on your rosary  
And they say there's a heaven for those who will wait  
Some say it's better but I say it ain't

I'd rather laugh with the sinners  
Than cry with the saints  
The sinners are much more fun

You know that only the good die young  
I tell you only the good die young  
Only the good die young

You said your mother told you  
All I could give you was a reputation  
Ah she never cared for me  
But did she ever say a prayer for me?

Come out, come out, come out Virginia  
Don't let me wait  
You Catholic girls start much too late  
Sooner or later it comes down to fate  
I might as well, will be the one  
You know that only the good die young  
Tell you baby  
You know that only the good die young

The song ended as cheers filled the room for Puck, who had drawn his girlfriend into a congratulatory kiss. Laughing and high-fiving each other, the Glee kids finally took their seats. Kurt strode back to his seat as well, being pummeled with questions from Mercedes almost immediately.

"Why didn't you jam with us?" She asked.

"Yeah, Kurt. It was fun." Rachel insisted with a warm smile for the boy.

"I'm just not up for the whole 'praise Jesus' thing, it's not my style." Kurt explained as he continued to occupy himself with his phone.

"What do you mean?" Finn asked with a raised brow that matched Quinn's gesture beside him.

"Sorry, uh, but if I wanted to sing about Jesus I'd go to church. And the reason I don't go to church is because most churches don't think very much of gay people. Or women. Or science." Kurt sighed. The bell rang before anyone could question Kurt further, and the kids began to frantically collect their books.

"Finn?" Quinn asked. Finn looked up from the seat where he was stacking his textbooks up on and looked at her, the question on his face. "I'm actually proud of you." She said with a half-smile.

"Really?" He asked, a goofy smile adorning his face while they exited the room.

"Well, yeah. You've finally learned to pray and trust Jesus. I'm glad." She admitted as they walked down the hallway.

"Yeah, well, I owe it all to the Grilled Cheesus I guess." Finn admitted, slinging his arm around Quinn's shoulders. He felt the girl shift under his arm and saw that she was staring at him in disbelief.

"Grilled what?" Quinn asked venomously.

"Oh!" Finn yelled, realizing he hadn't told Quinn of the miracle yet. "So the other day I was making a sandwich, right? But I kind of burned it in my mom's sandwich press. When I took it out, though, the image of Jesus was on it! I thought about all of the stuff we've been studying in those Christ's Crusaders meetings you bring me to and figured I should keep and you know, pray to it. I prayed that we would win the game last night, and we did!" He explained, all in a hushed whisper. "And it was 'cause of the sandwich, you know?" He asked with an open-mouthed smile. Quinn's expression from before hadn't faltered.

"What are you talking about?" She asked quickly, harshly. "A grilled cheese sandwich isn't why you won the football game."

"I don't know how else we would've won!" Finn yelled over the loud buzzing of the school bell. Neither cared at the moment that they were late to class, this arguement was much too important for either of them to back out of for fear of being late to English.

"Maybe because God heard your prayers instead of a stupid sandwich!" Quinn yelled back, a humorless laugh on her lips.

"It's not stupid!" Finn defended.

"'Wanna bet?" She asked him loudly.

"You know what? I do!" He barked back.

"What?" Quinn asked, her eyes wide.

"Yeah." Finn said more surely. "Yeah. I want to bet." Quinn stopped for a moment, her eyes lost in thought until she looked back up at his towering form.

"Fine." She finally agreed. "If I win, you have to get me a duet with you in Glee Club. In competition." She clarified. Finn wondered why she had such a desire, but pushed it to the back of his mind for the time being.

"Fine." He agreed. "But if I win...I get to touch your boobs!" He blurted out. She gaped at him for a moment, but put on her best pokerface as she straightened her back out.

"Agreed."

* * *

News of Burt Hummel's hospitalization had spread through the club like wildfire. By the next day, the whole school was probably aware courtesy of the gossip mongers of the club. (A.K.A. Brittany and Santana.) It was as if a huge gray cloud hung over the room as teary-eyed girls and solemn looking boys had offered their sympathies to their friend. Mr. Schuester's steps were barely audible as he entered the room.

"Hey guys, why don't we take our seats?" He asked in a monotone voice. The students complied, sniffling and gently patting Kurt's back as they went. "I'm sure you guys are all aware, but I thought I should tell you all anyways." He paused. "Kurt's dad is in the hospital. He was admitted late yesterday afternoon after having a heart attack."

"Oh, Kurt..." Tina said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulderpad. Mercedes suddenly stomped down the steps and stood next to Mr. Schue.

"Mr. Schue? I've got something I want to sing for my man Kurt." Mercedes explained. Mr. Schuester nodded and gave her the floor.

"Kurt, I know you don't believe in God, but I want you to know I'm here for you. We all are." She said to her friend, smiling softly, Kurt returned the gesture for a split second before Tina and Quinn stood behind Mercedes to accompany her. She motioned to Brad and he began to play a slow, sweet melody on the piano.

A moving rendition of Whitney Houston's "I Look To You" was sung, and every member of the club who wasn't in tears already had resorted to that.

"Thank you Mercedes." Kurt began. "Your voice is stunning but I don't believe in God... You've all professed your beliefs, I'm just stating mine. I think God is kind of like Santa Claus for adults. Otherwise, God is kind of a jerk, isn't he? I mean, he makes me gay and then he has his followers going around telling me it's something that I chose. As if someone would choose to be mocked every single day of their life. And right now I don't want a heavenly father, I want my real one back."

"Kurt-" Tina tried desperately.

"Thank you, Tina." Kurt cut her off. The bell rang and everyone got up to leave, all of them saying something to Kurt before they left. Quinn held onto Finn's arm with both of hers as they left, trying to stop herself from crying.

"After the football game, Rachel, Mercedes, and I are going to the hospital to pray for Burt. Do you want to come?" She asked, fully aware of how desperate she sounded. He nodded wordlessly, kissing her forehead before they parted ways.

"Hey, it's going to be fine." He assured her. She nodded and walked the opposite way down the hall. He watched her go, knowing that he had no idea if Burt was going to really be alright, but something about telling her that he would be felt...right.

* * *

Finn locked his precious sandwich away into his locker as he slipped his bright red jersey on. He had prayed to the Grilled Cheesus that he would be reinstated as quarterback soon. And tonight, he was feeling lucky. Still though, the terms of his and Quinn's bet was on his mind. Why did Quinn want to sing with him? He decided to voice his curiousity to Puck, who was conveniently nearby.

"Hey, Dude." Finn said, beginning to lace on his cleats.

"'Sup?" Puck greeeted.

"Okay, so this might seem a little weird, but Quinn and I made a bet." Finn told him. Puck began chuckling as he asked "Why?" "Well it doesn't matter, does it?" Finn asked.

"I guess not." Puck responded.

"But what's bugging me is that if she wins, she wants to sing with me at Sectionals or something." Finn explained to Finn.

"Like a duet?"

"Yeah. But I don't get why she would ask for that."

"Dude," Puck began, "She's jealous!" Finn looked confusedly at his on-and-off best friend. "You're always up there singing those love songs with Berry. She doesn't like it, Dude." Was all Puck said before slamming his locker shut and running out to the field, but not before yelling "I get it!" Back at him. Finn didn't think about it any further and instead followed Puck's lead by jogging out onto the field, being greeted by the roar of the audience. Although, he did come to one realization that he wouldn't soon forget.

She's jealous.

* * *

This was not turning out to be McKinley's best game. Sam wasn't doing a very good job at calling the right plays, and right now in the huddle, Finn knew what he played what he wanted to, then they didn't have a chance at winning, or at least adding a few numbers to that big, fat zero on the scoreboard.

"You're not going to get anything but fouled if you run that!" Finn said, poking his head into the huddle. The football players surrounding him stepped aside a little. Even if he wasn't the quarterback, Finn had an unspoken authority over most of the guys. They respected him for the sole fact that he knew what he was doing, and apparently, Sam didn't.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, surprised at the new presence. Finn began to explain a very precise set of plays that he believed if executed correctly, could win them the game...or at least let them lose with a little dignity intact.

"Who do you think you are, man?" Azimio asked defensively, Sam agreeing swiftly.

"I do know I'm the only guy who's won a game on this field the past three years." No-one could argue with that. There was an awkward silence between the brutes before Sam clapped, dispersing the huddle. Finn watched eagerly as the play unfolded exactly how he planned, aside from the other team's three-hundred-pound neanderthal slamming right into Sam, knocking him out cold.

A time-out was called and Sam was dragged off the field in a stretcher, incapable of playing for weeks on end.

"Hudson! Get over here!" Coach Beiste yelled. He ran to her readily. "Get out there!" She roared. Finn smiled beneath his helmet.

"Does this mean I'm quarterback again?" He asked.

"Duh!" She yelled before practically pushing him onto the field. He ran to his place on the field, and looked at his girlfriend on the sidelines as she gaped at him, waving her pom-poms around effortlessly. He mouthed "I'm gonna win" to her, referring to their little wager. She rolled her eyes and mouthed something to him that was far too disgusting to repeat. He smiled anyway, and gripped the football tightly in his hands as he began to call out the perfect play...

* * *

The joy that swam over the kids because they won the game was cast aside for a while as Finn drove his girlfriend to the hospital, still wearing his jersey, although his padded armor was removed and he had put on jeans and sneakers.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Finn asked at a red light.

"Positive." She informed him with a sweet smile. "Besides, Mercedes and Rachel are already there." He simply nodded as they pulled up to the hospital. There was a chill in the biting wind as they got out, and Quinn hugged the huge letterman jacket tighter to herself as they walked in the darkness. Finn noticed her uneasiness and dropped his arm around her, hugging her close.

"I told you, he's going to be alright." He whispered in her ear. Standing there, Quinn couldn't think of a single time that she didn't believe him when he said that.

* * *

Finn was feeling guilty. Really guilty. He thought that he was supposed to feel awesome now that he was quarterback and people were back to fearing him again, but he couldn't help but think that if he hadn't prayed to the Grilled Cheesus asking for his position back, Sam may not be in the hospital with a dislocated shoulder unable to play for, by the looks of it, a while. Finally, he went to Ms. Pillsbury and told her all about the Grilled Cheesus and his prayers and his guilt over Sam. As kindly as she could, the guidance counselor informed Finn that it was very unlikely that God was speaking to him through a grilled cheese sandwich.

The next day in Glee Club, Finn sang "Losing My Religion," eliciting a quirked brow from his girlfriend.

"Does this mean I won?" She whispered to him as he sat down.  
"Not a chance." He lied. She seemed suspicious, but kept quiet while Kurt spoke and sang to the club. When Kurt finished, The club began walking ot the auditorium to sing a song they had all agreed was fitting for the situation.

"Are you sure I didn't win?" She asked as they walked through the halls, her brow still quirked.

"Why would you think I lost?" He shot back.

"Because," She began, lifting his shirt and sniffing it a bit. "You smell horrible. Like...rotten cheese..." She suggested. He gulped hard. Attempting to lie again would be next to impossible. Quinn would know. "You ate it, didn't you?" She asked after a long silence.

"Maybe-Sort of-not really...yes." He finally admitted, hanging his head.

"I won." She reminded him quietly.

"I know." He sighed. "But how am I supposed to pry half a song from Rachel?" He asked her. She patted his back a bit.

"That's not my problem." Quinn told him quietly, picking up her pace as they walked.

"Wait! Quinn!" He called after her. "Do I still get to touch your boobs?"

***So? How did I do? Like I said, I'm pretty happy with this, I did try to shake things up just a bit, but I'd love to know how I did with that, so...REVIEWREVIEWREVIEW! Oh yeah, and REVIEW!***


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